


The Jacket

by tilia_cordata



Category: Glee
Genre: 5x03, Episode Related, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-11
Updated: 2013-10-11
Packaged: 2017-12-29 02:20:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/999723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tilia_cordata/pseuds/tilia_cordata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A week after returning to New York after the memorial, Kurt finds a package at his door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Jacket

**Author's Note:**

> Quick reaction to episode 5x03 "The Quarterback" - written right after the episode aired.

Almost exactly a week after he gets back to New York, Kurt finds a package at their front door. The return address is McKinley, and he doesn’t recognize the handwriting. Inside, neatly folded and wrapped in perfectly crisp tissue paper, is Finn’s letterman jacket.He’s the only one home - Santana is with Dani and Rachel is at rehearsal. He takes it out of the box gingerly, as though it might fall apart if he is too rough, and wraps himself in it, trying to find his brother in the soft wool and the too-long sleeves. 

He wasn’t sure if he had tears left, but he cries anyway, cries and remembers and lets himself draw strength from his memories. He doesn’t hear the door to the loft slide open, doesn’t notice anyone until Santana’s arms are around him. 

Kurt takes the jacket off and lays it across both of their laps, and they sit and start telling stories. Stories about Finn and about Glee club and high school, stories about when they were kids and when they all hated each other and when they came to love each other. 

When Rachel comes home they fold her in their arms as she folds over the jacket, which doesn’t really smell like Finn anymore but if she presses her face hard enough into the wool she can pretend it does. 

For the next few days, the jacket moves around the apartment, from Kurt’s chair to curled up with Santana to tucked in Rachel’s bed. Sometimes they lay it across an empty seat, sometimes it’s neatly folded and almost tucked away. 

It’s over dinner, one of the few dinners the three of them are alone together in the loft, that Rachel says, “I think I know someone else who needs it.” Both Santana and Kurt nod, and Kurt folds it and wraps it in crisp clean tissue paper as Santana addresses the box and Rachel writes a note to include. They take it to the post office together, holding hands as they walk away from the counter. 

Three days later, Quinn Fabray finds a note in her mailbox saying she has a package for pick-up. She brings it to her dorm, reads the neat note laid on top of the tissue paper. “Keep it for as long as you need” is all it says. She unfolds the wrapping and her breath catches. 

Her roommate finds her curled up in bed, wrapped in the oversized red jacket, letting tears she has kept locked away for weeks fall freely.


End file.
